Speak To Me, Jack
by obsydiandreams
Summary: Spoilers for Day 4 of CoE. My version of Ianto's reaction to he and Jack's conversation.   Jack's POV coming later.   *slight swearing*  implied Jack/Ianto.  Gwen/Rhys


Here we go again. These boys have wormed their way into my brain, and are not leaving me alone. I don't know if I'm allowed to say "I'm not a writer" anymore. Lol.

Anyway, this scene killed me on Day 4. I mean… Jack couldn't have known that within hours after, he'd lose Ianto… I think this would have gone a bit different otherwise… but still. The heartbreak on both of their faces was terrible… and wonderfully done. They are such fine actors.

I'm going to be writing Jack's POV as well, as a second chapter.

Thanks for reading! You are all wonderful.

Usual disclaimers… Jack belongs to Ianto *even if he's a jerk sometimes* and both, for some reason, still belong to RTD and the BBC. As I become more and more sure that they aren't deserving.

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Ianto found Jack staring off into space. He approached slowly, not really knowing what to say_. "Why didn't you tell me? I could have helped."_

Jack shook his head slightly. _"No you couldn't."_

'Of course not… The great Jack Harkness never needs help' Ianto thought, irritated. _"I tell you everything."_

Jack looked at him, and Ianto had to stop himself from flinching from the look in Jack's eyes. He'd never seen his Captain so defeated. Not even when Tosh and Owen died. _"Yeah, so tell me, what should I have done?"_

Ianto stood his ground though. This wasn't the Jack he knew. Granted, he didn't even know if the Jack he knew was really Jack. He sighed internally, wondering if his life would ever be normal. Wondering if he wanted it to be. _"Stood up to them. The Jack I know would have stood up to them. I've only just scraped the surface, haven't I?"_

"_Ianto, that's all there is."_ There was the lie. It hurt, to know that even now, even at the end of the world, Jack would lie to him.

"_No, you pretend that's all there is."_

Jack spoke quickly, _"I've lived a long time. I've done a lot of things…."_ Ianto didn't know how to react to that. He knew Jack had been around for a long time before him, and would be for a long time after, perhaps forever. He knew that was hard, but… why did it have to hurt so much. _"I've gotta go. I won't be long."_

He rolled his eyes. Not again. There he went, running away again. Just when Ianto thought they were getting somewhere, just when he thought he'd finally be able to talk to Jack. _"You're doing it again. Speak to me, Jack, where are you going?"_

Jack turned back to him and quickly spat out, _"To call Frobisher. I can't make the call from here, cause they'll be able to trace it, is that ok?"_

Ouch. Ianto nearly broke right there. But he couldn't do that. Not right now, not in front of Jack. He couldn't let Jack see just how badly he was hurting right now. It was hard, but he steeled his voice, so only a slight tremor came out. _"You're the boss."_

And then… the bombshell. _"And just so you know I have a daughter called Alice and a grandson called Steven and Frobisher took them hostage yesterday. "_ Jack's voice caught in his throat as he spoke, and Ianto's heart broke a little more. It was a wonder that it still beat in there… What with all of the little pieces it had broken into since he had joined Torchwood. Right now, he didn't know if it was breaking for Jack, because of Jack, because of what Jack never told him or because of what Jack did tell him. He didn't know if he should say something or offer to help or what. He blinked back the tears as Jack turned almost dismissively and walked away.

Jack stalked off, all fluttering coat and flustered anger. Ianto stood for a few minutes, just watching him as he walked away. He didn't know what to think at this moment...about Jack, about him and Jack… about this whole situation. His heart was breaking again, all because of Jack Harkness. It was fucked up. And Ianto didn't swear very often, even in his own head.

He stood rooted to the spot. Just staring at the place that Jack had left. His world had been turned upside down in the span of just days. The HUB blown up, the SUV stolen, and them on the run. That was Torchwood though, constantly life altering. He could deal with the children, and the aliens, and even the threat of the end of the world. As he said, the world was always ending. What he couldn't deal with was Jack turning his back on him. And it always happened that way. Jack would be there one minute, and then turn around and be gone the next. Ianto just never knew what to think. Jack had said they were a couple… where they? In the next hour, he had said he hated the word couple. Ianto knew he loved Jack, and would do anything for him. Including put up with all of the bullshit that being in love with Jack involved. He realized that that was the second time he'd sworn in his head in minutes… Then he realized he'd been standing there for minutes, staring at the door.

Ianto turned on his heel and walked back towards the other end of the warehouse where Gwen and Rhys were. He was still dazed, and it must have shown on his face, Gwen looked up at him with concern filling her large eyes. "Ianto, sweetheart, is everything ok?"

Without looking at her, and trying to ignore the prickling in his eyes, Ianto softly said, "Its Jack. He's gone off again… They have his daughter and grandson."

"Jack has a daughter? I suppose it makes sense, him living so long… He's probably got lots of kids floating around" Rhys said with a smile.

"Rhys." Gwen glared at him and gestured towards Ianto, who was still staring at the ground and standing there dazed. She put an arm around the young man's shoulders and sat him on the couch, turning his head to face her. "Ianto…"

"Gwen, he hides so much from me… what should I think? I didn't even know he had a daughter. Isn't this the sort of thing I should know? "Ianto now had tears in his eyes. Trying not to shed them, he looked into Gwen's kind eyes. "Why doesn't he tell me anything?"

"Sweetheart, Jack is… well Jack is Jack. I don't know what goes on in his head sometimes, I don't think anyone does. He has had so many lives, but right now, he's spending this one with you. We've all seen how he looks at you." She paused, taking a deep breath. It was a bit hard on her, considering how she felt about Jack. Right now thought, Ianto didn't need her jealousy. He needed a friend. And they were all they had left. "Ianto, Jack has lost so much and he'll lose so much in his life. You know how hard it is to truly open up to people. Of all of us, he still tells you the most."

Ianto looked at her gratefully. At one point during her speech, the tears had begun to flow. He wasn't stupid, far from it. He knew that Gwen loved Jack. Who didn't, really. Jack just had that effect on people. But he realized that she was right. And that she was putting away her feelings for the Captain to reassure him. They had to band together. 'The old team' he had quipped sarcastically when they first got to the warehouse… but it was true. They were a team, and he loved all of them. "Thank you Gwen. I'm sorry for, well, for falling apart like this. I just don't know where I stand with him sometimes. It's hard. First Lisa, now Jack." He laughed softly. "I guess nothing about Torchwood is normal, including the relationships, yeah?"

She knew he'd be fine. Ianto was resilient. Gwen smiled at him, "That's better, yeah? He'll be back. And then you two will be off again." She whispered, "I'll even pull Rhys away for a bit, let you two 'make up'" She giggled.

Ianto blushed scarlet and sputtered, "I …uh ... yeah. Thanks Gwen. We need to help him though. We need to figure out how to get them back. And finish saving the world. It's what we do, right? We look out for everyone. And each other." He had asked Tosh so long ago, it felt like another lifetime 'who looks out for us?' And now he knew. They looked out for each other because they were all they had. And Jack was no exception to that rule.

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Comments are love.


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